More Than Meets The Eye
by TheNewJeniferChurch
Summary: Convicted of murdering Cedric Diggory, Harry chooses to walk through the Veil of Justice. Hermione, Remus and Sirius go with him, and because all are innocent, none are killed (save the Horcrux). It sends them away from their persecutors and into a new world, which unbeknownst to them is about to be at war, as well. Harry/Hermione, Sam/Mikaela. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE**

 **Prologue**

 _Ministry For Magic, London, England, 28 July, 1995. . . ._

"Harry James Potter, you are this day found guilty of the murder of Cedric Diggory. The sentence for this horrible crime is the Dementor's Kiss. But you have requested a different method. Please relay this to the court, so that they may deliberate on it."

Harry looked like hell. They'd been keeping him in Azkaban during this farce of a trial, and the Dementors were close to killing him anyway. His voice was harsh from screaming, and the only break he'd had was when Dumbledore had visited him and in here, during the trial itself. But he had a way out, one Hermione had found for him through constant research from the moment Amos Diggory had called for his arrest. She'd given it to him with tears in her eyes, knowing this would be the end for them either way.

"A friend who I will love for the rest of my life has discovered an ancient statute. Any convicted of a capital crime may call for the justice of the Veil. If the convicted is truly guilty they will be killed by it. If they are not guilty, however, it will whisk them away to a new world where they may live outside the reach of those who have wrongfully convicted them. It is the ultimate arbiter of justice, and either way, I will be gone from here. And when you find out that I did not lie to you, and Voldemort has taken over the wizarding world, if not the entire world, you will have no one to turn to. I will go to a new world and leave this one to its own devices, because it has killed me." He paused, hearing the shouting of several voices he knew well, voices who had consistently decried this injustice, and said, "To those few of you who believed me, I beg you to attempt no rescues. Let me go. I'm tired of being this society's whipping boy."

"Harry! No!" Remus Lupin shouted from the audience.

But the Wizengamut whispered among themselves, and in the end, all agreed that it was every citizen's right if convicted of a capital crime to be given to the Veil of Justice. "The petition is granted. The sentence of the Dementor's Kiss is lifted in favor of the Veil of Justice. Let Magic judge you three days hence. You are hereby remanded to the holding cells in the Department of Mysteries, and your departure will be witnessed by ten of the Wizengamut and three of your choosing." The Minister struck his gavel, finalizing all statements made to the record.

 **-tf-**

Three days later, Harry stood with Dumbledore, Remus and Hermione, the later leading a dog on a chain, who was Sirius Black. Harry understood. Sirius was coming with him, hopefully to the same world.

The Minister had invited the press, as well, fully expecting Harry to be killed by the Veil and wanting to use that to bolster his public standing.

Dumbledore was very ready to break Harry out. But Harry had given up, and he could hardly blame him. "Harry, are you sure about this? Fawkes could easily..."

"And then what? You told me the prophesy. But if I fulfill it, then there's nothing stopping any of you from killing him if you can get close enough. Take out those other pieces. The one in me should be destroyed by the Veil, for Voldemort is truly guilty."

Hermione was strangely silent, though tears were streaming down her face. Harry just reached out to hug her. Silently, she slipped his wand inside his robe, and he fought to keep his eyes from widening.

Then came the Minister's hated voice. "That's enough. It's time."

Harry closed his eyes, then moved away from his friends. Hermione loosed Sirius and he returned to his human form. The Minister shouted for guards, but Sirius shouted back at him, "Oh, shut up! I'm going with Harry. You never gave me a trial, so I was never given this choice. Well I'm taking it now, and I'm leaving you fools to rot. Dumbledore, you have the key to my vault, and when the Veil proves me innocent, the Goblins have to let you keep it. Feel free to use every knut to take that bastard out, and this one if you have time." That last he said with his thumb jerked in the Minister's direction.

So as to make sure they landed together, Harry and Sirius joined hands. They were surprised when a third hand joined them, but not at all surprised to see that it was Hermione's hand. Harry said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said. "I don't want to live in a world that would kill you, or a world without you in it. I Obliviated my parents. They're on their way to Australia, with no knowledge they ever had a daughter."

Sadly, Harry nodded.

Without a word, Remus stepped up beside them. It was no surprise that Remus was coming with them if Sirius was going.

Together the four faced the Veil, and with Hermione on the left of Harry and Sirius on his right, and Remus on Sirius's right, they ran through it together.

The Minister fully expected to see at least two bodies on the other side of the Veil, or even four, since he didn't really believe it was the Veil of Justice, but the Veil of Death. But there were none. The Veil had declared all to be innocent.

The Minister was sacked within a week. But the damage was done, and the Wizarding world would have to move on with four less of its best and brightest.

 **-tf-**

 _Note: This is Harry's fifteenth birthday. When he was arrested, Dumbledore told him the prophesy, unwittingly spurring him into this decision._

 **Chapter One**

 _Note: Hermione is almost a year older than Harry, her birthdate being 9/19/79. Bayverse is eleven years ahead of Potterverse, to the day._

They landed together, and that was a relief to all of them. That they could still feel magic on the other side of that jump was even more of one. This universe operated on the same basic laws as the one they'd just left. That meant they'd be able to figure things out, one way or another.

Harry let Hedwig go, then stood and pulled Hermione up with him. Remus and Sirius stood on their own, and they looked around. They were in a city, one built with steel and concrete, and they were in the middle of an abandoned construction site. Hedwig flew up to the rafters and began preening her feathers. It was daytime and the city around them was alive, but the site was quiet. It gave them time to get their bearings.

To Hermione, Harry said, "Thank you for my wand. I could have learned wandless, but this will make things easier. All right, I know you. You're the most obsessive person in the school, surpassing every Ravenclaw in the school for knowledge greed and planning ability." He nodded at the bag she was carrying. "What all did you bring?"

Hermione smiled at him. "Well someone has to be prepared."

"Don't let her fool you, Harry," said Sirius. "She's been shopping for a week, spending my money on various supplies. Dumbledore didn't object when she came with us because she's already had it out with him and the Weasley clan. You should have heard the row! Anyway, there's a wizarding tent, clothes for all four of us, food and water, her potion-making kit and cauldron, and a Muggle first aid kit, as well as two hundred feet of quarter-inch gold chain."

With a fond smile, Remus added, "And of course, this being Hermione, there's a library worth of books in there, as well."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "Gold chain?"

"It's for money," she said. "We couldn't be sure where we would land or what kind of currency they would take, but gold has intrinsic value, and we can exchange it for whatever they will be using. In some cultures, we can simply break off the links and use them directly. But wherever we are, I'm sure it will be worth something. Each link is about three and a half ounces by weight, so it's a lot of money."

 _Note: 2000 links, 3.324 oz./link (.85 oz. steel)_

"That's if they're human, of course," said Remus.

Hermione shrugged.

Harry looked around. "Well this looks like it's being built by humans. I don't think we've landed somewhere all that strange. I guess the first thing we should do is find a good campsite, ward it, and stay put until tomorrow morning. We should nick a paper or something, find out where and when we are." He sighed. "I'm so glad to be away from the Dementors. I don't know how you survived eleven years in that place, Sirius, I really don't."

Sirius nodded sympathetically. "It gets better, cub, I promise."

They began to walk out of the construction zone, and found themselves in a warehouse district. They reached the edge of it, though and saw a busy street full of people. Once they were sure what fashions would be best to use, they stepped back into the shadows a bit and transfigured everyone's clothing to match. Sirius and Remus were in long-sleeved button down shirts, trousers and Oxfords, but not neckties. Harry and Hermione were in jeans, T-shirts and trainers. And Hermione's featherlight expanded bag became a backpack and was slung over both shoulders. It would be harder to lose that way and would look right, as well.

They found an abandoned newspaper in a public bin, and Sirius pulled it out before it could have someone's garbage thrown on it. The paper was the Oakland Post, in Oakland, California, and the date was 31 July, 2006.

Sirius said, "We're eleven years in the future and we're in the States."

"Are we still on the same Earth?" asked Remus.

Harry said, "I don't think so. There's plenty of magic here, but it feels different."

Knowing Harry was very sensitive to magical energies, Hermione took this in stride. "Different how?"

"Bigger, fuller, and it has a different taste, for want of a better word. Like the difference between tap water and bottled. It's cleaner, purer."

They went back to the construction site and pitched their tent, then warded the area around it to keep out the Muggles. They'd start a fire in the stove later, but for now they needed to plan a few things out. Remus was the only one among them who had worked in the Muggle world, so he had a lot to say. "Using the price I found in today's paper, we have well over four million dollars in gold. If we cared to, we could invest that and it would actually keep us comfortable for a long time. But we're also going to need to buy some things. We'll need to find a house, and I think we'll need to get our hands on some educational material to get everyone caught up to the Muggle world. We don't even know if they have wizards here."

Harry was sitting on one of the camping chairs staring at his wand. "I want to thank you all for helping me through this. I still can't believe they thought I'd kill Cedric."

Hermione put one of her hands on his, and he turned his head to look her in the eye. "They don't matter anymore, Harry. You'll never have to deal with them ever again."

He offered her a watery smile. "I know."

 **-tf-**

Over the next year, the four wizards learned a lot. They had come into a world where terrorists had hijacked huge passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York. Their arrival, which should have tripped alarms if there was a magical community to hear them, went unanswered, making them realize they were the only magicals in the country. Sirius had tried to liken Harry and Hermione to Adam and Eve, which had just gotten him smacked by Remus for making assumptions.

Hermione'd had the brains, not that anyone doubted them, to bring the recipe for the Wolfsbane potion with them, and the first thing they did was get the ingredients together for it. Hermione was also the best potioneer of all of them, so when the day of their first full moon hit, they were ready. That was when they found out that she had stored and brought with them her entire home library and the entire seven years' curriculum of Hogwarts. It made all of them laugh, but none of them could gainsay the action, as those were the only books on magic they would ever have with them unless they wrote their own.

The first full moon, which was August 9th, went off without a hitch, Sirius and Remus running in Joaquin Miller Park. Harry decided then and there to learn the Animagus transformation.

They all had to go to the immigration office to get papers and IDs. Wanting there to be as good a paper trail as possible, he found out all of the steps required for permanent residency and got as many of them filed as he could. He found out that it was a long and drawn out process, but he got business visas for himself and Sirius, and minor student visas for Harry and Hermione. He had both of them enrolled at John Marshall High School for the next term, which began in August, giving them no time to play catch-up with their Muggle Studies, so they had work extra hard on their homework. For once, Harry didn't complain about Hermione's study habits, and was very grateful that she had kept up with math and science over the summers. She knew more than the other three put together on those subjects.

Remus got a job as a transcriptionist in a hospital, his background in Latin and Greek coming in handy. He confessed he'd done such work before to make ends meet, in the years before he taught at Hogwarts. He wanted Sirius to get a job, as well, but he was just as behind as the kids in Muggle subjects. He decided, instead, to try and open a shop, selling transfigured wooden furniture and art pieces. That worked out pretty well, and soon, Remus stopped working at the hospital and came to work in Sirius's shop because he needed help due to the brisk business he was doing.

Harry wanted to try out for the school's footie team, soccer they called it here, but with the studying, he didn't have the time. He did, however, make a friend, Sam Witwicky, who ended up being invaluable when it came to learning about American culture. During winter break, Sam asked Harry to come over and hang out. Remus and Sirius allowed it, knowing Harry was going a bit stir crazy. Hermione thrived in the heavily academic environment, learning everything they could about this new world, but Harry needed something extra, and a little downtime to just be a kid.

He came up to the front door and politely knocked. Sam answered the door. "Hey, Harry! Hey, Mom, Harry and me are gonna hang out in my room, okay!" And he tried to rush Harry past his parents to avoid their parental weirdness.

But they were too fast for him. "Hold it!" called his father. "You know we want to meet your friends, Sam." He turned to Harry with his hand out to shake. "Hi, I'm Ron Witwicky, also known as Dad for some reason." That last was said with a glare at Sam.

Harry shook his hand and said, "Harry Potter-Black."

"How come the double last name?"

"Potter is my family name, but I was adopted by my godfather, Sirius Black after my parents were killed."

Ron looked like he'd swallowed a shoe. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

But Harry shook his head. "Not a problem. They died when I was very small. I don't really remember them. Sirius might as well be my Dad, though Uncle Remus is really the only adult in the house."

Sam's mother came up to them, and Ron introduced them. "This is my wife, Judy."

Judy asked, "Are you staying for dinner, Harry?"

"I didn't think about it. I'd hate to impose-"

"Oh, you're not imposing! No, really, we want you to stay so we can learn all about you. And wow, your eyes are just gorgeous!"

"Mom! You're gonna scare him off."

"Why? There's nothing wrong with having gorgeous eyes!"

"Because he's a guy and guys don't talk like that. This is as bad as that collar you bought for Mojo!"

"Judy-!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous! There's nothing wrong with saying things like that!"

"Mom-!"

"It's okay," Harry broke in. "Everyone tells me I have my mother's eyes. I'll just ring home and let them know I'm staying, then." He pulled out his flip phone and called the Dog House, which was what they had come to call their flat. Remus answered the phone. "Remus? Yeah, Mrs. Witwicky asked if I could stay for dinner."

Meanwhile, Sam continued to rail at his mother for embarrassing him.

But Remus didn't have a problem with it, so everything quieted down and Sam ran Harry up the stairs before she could say something else stupid like that. "Geez, I'm really sorry about that."

"It's fine. Definitely not the worst thing that's ever happened to me or been said to me."

Sam's room was a mess. It was a combination of normal teenage messiness and the fact that he had a Chihuahua living in the room with him, who apparently liked to shred things on occasion. But he didn't really seem to notice. "So, you and Hermione. Are you like, a thing?"

Harry felt his face heat up. "No."

Sam noticed his blush. "But you want to be, huh?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I swear, you're Parvati Patel in disguise."

"Huh?"

"A girl at my last school. She only wanted to talk about relationships. To anyone. Ever."

Sam frowned at him. "I'm not that bad. I just figured if you weren't, I could take a swing at having something with her."

Harry snorted. "Yeah right. You've been staring at Mikaela Banes, forever according to Wade. At least as long as I've been in the States." He stared at him for a moment or two. "We're both pathetic, aren't we."

Sam grinned and tossed a foam American football at him. He caught it easily. "Yes, yes we are. So, what is the deal at your house? You've got your godfather, plus your Uncle Remus, and Hermione. How does everybody fit?"

"Remus is Sirius's brother. And Hermione is his goddaughter. Hers is the same situation as mine, really, but she only lost her parents recently."

"Man, that sucks. I mean, my parents are nuts, as you just saw, but it'd still suck if they weren't around." Sam thought about it for a minute, then changed the subject. "So are you trying out for the soccer team? I heard soccer is really big in Europe."

"I've got to worry about my academics this year, but I plan to next year. You should try out with me."

"No. I tried out for football this year. It was bad." Harry could virtually see the bad memories float across his face. He shuddered.

"Footie, sorry, _soccer_ isn't as bad in the physical violence department. Not unless you're in the stands, anyway."

They talked about sports and American pop culture for the rest of the afternoon, and then Remus came and got Harry after dinner to bring him home. "How'd it go?" Remus asked.

Harry grinned. "It was great. Did you know, I've never been to a friend's house, other than the Weasleys, before today? Of course, that was because I wasn't allowed to have friends in school before I started at Hogwarts."

 **-tf-**

Three days later, it was Christmas, and the small family gathered to celebrate the season as best they could. They had a small turkey, with all the trimmings, plum cake and apple pie, and they made their own crackers to pull since they couldn't find anywhere to buy them. They exchanged small gifts, nothing extravagant, but meaningful to each, and then Sirius poured everyone a glass of the non-alcoholic sparkling cider that he'd found at the grocer's. He held his up and said, "To all those we left behind."

Remus said, "To Hogwarts."

Harry said, "To the Weasleys."

And Hermione, with tears running down her cheeks, said, "To Manny and Helen Granger."

Sirius solemnly finished, "May they all find peace without us."

They all drank their cups, and Hermione started crying in earnest. Harry sat his glass down, and took hers from her hand, then wrapped her in a hug, letting her cry herself out on his shoulder.

 **-tf-**

 _Note: Just a few quick notes. The wizards are actually pretty well off here. At 2006 prices, that much gold is worth about $4.23 million. But they're trying not to glut the market, hence the jobs. And this is the year before the movie. First, because it syncs Harry's age with Sam's. Second, because it gives them all time to get used to things before everything goes to hell in a Camaro._

 _When you review, let me know your thoughts on Sirius Black/Maggie Maddeson. Just a thought I've been having. I may or may not go there, but your thoughts would surely help me with the choice._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

New Year's Eve was a party, and Sirius loved a party. The problem was, there were very few people to invite to it. They were still so new to this world, and they'd had very little time to meet people and make friends. That was solved when the Witwickys invited them to their place for New Year's.

Sam also invited Wade, another friend from school, but he had to beg off because he'd caught the flu and didn't want to spread the wealth.

Ron and Judy had their TV set up to watch the festivities in each time zone; one in New York, one in Chicago, one in Las Vegas, and one in Los Angeles. That way they could have four hours of partying. Of course, that meant that by the time midnight rolled around, the adults were all four smashed.

Harry was getting a drink from the kid-friendly side of the bar, so Sam took the opportunity to ask Hermione a question. "Are you and Harry going out?"

She smiled. "Well, not yet. Things were starting to go that way, but-" she sighed. "Everything went horribly wrong last year. He got entered into this stupid contest designed for much older students. Everyone's eyes were on him. He took someone else to the dance because he didn't want people looking at me like some kind of trolop. And then-oh, we're not supposed to talk about everything that happened. But it was horrible, and people were trying to kill us, to kill Harry! They got m-m-my p-p-parents!" Of course, her parents were alive and well, but they weren't hers anymore, and she had lost them because of the insanity of the wizards reaction to Harry's proclamation.

Unnerved as Hermione started to cry, Sam looked around for Harry, and saw him staring at them. He could have sworn the green in his eyes had gotten brighter, and for some reason, he didn't think that was a good thing, but he waved him over, and that gleam went away. "You guys survived. I'm sorry that your parents didn't make it, Hermione, but I'm really glad you did."

Realizing what was going on, Harry calmed down, shoving the jealous monster that had tried to be born down into a hole in his mind. Sam wouldn't go against him like that, and he'd made it plain that he was a friend to them. "Thanks, Sam." He wrapped an arm around Hermione, and she burrowed her head into his shoulder. As he comforted her, he couldn't help but think he'd like her to be there more often, and not just because she was sad.

Just then, the volume of the party in LA went up as they counted down the last ten seconds to midnight. Harry looked into Hermione's eyes and she smiled up at him, even through her tears. As the count reached zero, she leaned up and kissed him on the lips. Fireworks went off in his skin at the contact. He looked at her with surprise, but seeing that there was none in her face, he smiled back and went in for a more thorough kiss.

Sam flushed and left the two alone, grabbing his drink and joining the adults around the TV. He was happy for them. He could tell it was their first kiss, too. Thinking about it, and how special both teens were, he felt priviledged to have seen that first moment. Of course, that meant he was going to be the third wheel for a while, until that first newness wore off, but seriously they were perfect for each other, and he wouldn't stand in their way. Now he just needed to get a girl of his own. He thought about Mikaela, and really wished he could attract her attention some way.

Sirius and Remus finally noticed Harry and Hermione, and with a grin, Remus took out his camera. It was a disposable, meant to take pictures of the party only and then be developed, and they both wanted to make sure that moment was on the roll. Then they'd get to tease the pair for the next six weeks at least!

The camera flash, however, brought the two out of their enchantment. They both turned to look at the two Marauders in surprise. Then they looked back at each other, and matching evil grins spread across their faces. Sirius and Remus spent the rest of the night trying not to get soaked by their charges, who had found a pair of water guns somewhere and were both very good shots.

-tf-

"I can't believe you convinced him."

"I don't know if I really did. I think he's betting on me not getting three As."

Harry grinned at Sam. "Maybe your Dad just thinks more of your abilities than you do." Then he frowned. "That geneology report is going to be an issue for me."

"Why?" asked Sam.

"Because we left most of our stuff behind when we left England." Remus had brought Harry's trunk with him, shrunk in a pocket, but most of that stuff couldn't be shared with a class full of Muggles.

"I didn't think about that." Sam sat back on his bed, tossing a mini basketball at the ceiling. "How come you guys came here, anyway?"

Harry glared at him. "You know I'm not supposed to talk about that."

"Hey, no one's going to find out from me!"

"Not even Wade? Or your parents?"

Sam sat up, sensing Harry was ready to cave. "No way. I don't tell Wade stuff because he couldn't keep a secret if you tied it to his balls." Harry snorted at that. "And it's none of my parents' business."

Harry sighed and looked at his friend, guaging his sincerity. Finally, he said, "Fine. But if this gets out, I'll murder you, and Hermione will murder me. Then Remus and Sirius will dig us both up and murder us again. You understand?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"All right. I know Hermione told you people were trying to kill us. Her parents were killed because of this." That was close enough to the truth, since they were no longer her parents, and Hermione still had to grieve the loss of them. "My parents were killed when I was a baby by a terrorist named Tom Riddle. He was stopped because he tried to kill me, too. A fortune teller had told him that I would be born with the power to defeat him, and he didn't want me to grow up and succeed."

"That's crazy! He tried to kill you because of a fortune teller?"

"Yeah, but the weapon he was using backfired on him, and he ended up in a coma for the next thirteen years." Again, close enough, just edited for Muggle consumption. "Then he came back, and it all started again. Everyone was afraid of him, so afraid they wouldn't even say his name. See at first, he was really weak. But his followers were able to act, and they got me put into this contest that was meant for students who were ready to graduate. I didn't stand a chance, but the point was never for me to compete. It was for me to be isolated. People were really mad because they didn't believe me when I said I didn't enter my name. And then his people grabbed me and a student I was with. He was strong again, and he killed Cedric, would have killed me, but I was faster than he his goons expected, and I got away."

"Wow! W-were you hurt?"

"Cuts and bruises. But because the government was so afraid of Riddle, they refused to believe me that he was back, and because Cedric was undeniably dead, they charged me with his murder. Rather than go to prison for the rest of my life, I got set to run. Sirius and Remus had already planned to come with me, and then Hermione's parents were killed and she joined us. And that's why you can't tell anyone, too. They can't find us, but we don't want people thinking about any of this, either."

Sam shook his head. "That's nuts, man."

"Yeah. Remus says fear does strange things to people."

"Turns 'em into dumb-asses?"

Harry grinned at his friend. "That too."

"Well thanks for telling me. I promise, no one's gonna hear it from me."

"I trust you, Sam." He changed the subject. "So, are you still planning to sell your great grandfather's stuff?"

"Yeah, it's the only stuff I have that's worth anything, and I need that car."

"You think Mr. Hosney's going to go for it?"

"I'm still doing the report," Sam protested, "and I'm still including all of the stuff he wants, like visual aids, and actual research."

Harry gave him an evil grin. "Yeah, but is it worth an A?"

Sam shot back with, "So, how are things going with Hermione?"

-tf-

Harry sat in front of his computer trying to get creative with his own geneology report. He'd asked Remus and Sirius for as much information as he could get on the Potter family, and was busy twisting it to match the Muggle world. Aparently his grandfather had worked in the only office of the War Department during World War II that a Wizard could legally be part of, and that was the Communications Office. He'd been responsible for creating codes that the Germans couldn't break for use by Allied forces.

But with precious little brought with them from the other world, the most he was able to produce was a family tree and those few photos. He was not getting the best grade here.

He sighed and stretched to work the kinks out of his neck and shoulders, then smiled when he felt slim feminine arms wrap around his chest from behind, Hermione's soft curls brushing his neck as she hugged him. "Hi."

"How's the report coming?" she asked sofly.

"Slowly. There's just nothing for me to use. It's ironic. If this had been a Hogwarts assignment, I would have been able to find things easily, because of the length of the Potter line. Sirius said the family can be traced to before Hogwarts waas built, though it wasn't always named Potter. And I can't go up the Evans line, either, because Mum never talked about home around Dad's friends."

Hermione started masaging his neck. "You should take a short break. Let your mind just work on the problem for a while without your consciousness getting in the way of it."

He looked up at her. "Planning to distract me?"

She gave him a slightly heated look. "Maybe."

Sirius and Remus were happy that the two teens had found happiness in each other, but because they were still teens and living in the same house, they had made some rules to keep things from getting out of hand. They were allowed in each other's rooms, so long as the door was open, no heavy petting until they were both sixteen, and no intercourse until they were seventeen, which was the legal age of adulthood in the wizarding world. They were also to use precautions and make sure that Hermione did not get pregnant before they were actually married. The entire conversation had made both teens blush like mad, but the rules were sensible and not too overbearing for a couple of young people in love.

Still, despite the rules, Hermione was quite easily able to distract her boyfriend from his studies. Since New Year, she had been much more able to overcome the loss of her parents, and was pretty much back to her old self, and her self was something Harry found quite distracting.

-tf-

The reports went much as they had expected, though Harry got a better grade than he was expecting, pulling out a B+. Hermione, of course, got an A+, and Sam got an A- after begging the teacher with the story of his car dreams. Of course, he had not lied to the teacher, but he had certainly begged as shamelessly as he had hawked his great grandfather's old equipment in class.

It helped that it was the last assignment of the year. The teacher felt quite magnanimous.

And that evening, Sam Witwicky came home in a 1977 Chevy Camaro with an exhaust problem. Harry and Hermione went over to his house because he wanted to show it off, and they agreed to be suitably impressed by the vehicle, though both knew he wasn't going to get that much car for four thousand dollars.

But looking at the car, Harry's ability to sense magic suddenly went into overdrive. He could have sworn the car was alive, and magical! Was it some kind of illusion? And why would this magical creature be pretending to be a car?

As he stared, the car's radio came on, by itself, playing a fragment of a song. "Jeepers, creepers, where'd you get those peepers?"

Realizing that he was staring, Harry blinked, and said, "Sorry." He turned to Sam. "Sam, did you know your car was alive when you bought it?"

"Harry, did you eat one of Mojo's pills?"

Hermione was shocked. "Harry!"

"I know it sounds crazy, but-" Harry spotted the emblem on the steering wheel. "Isn't that symbol in your seventh year rune text, Hermione?"

She looked more closely, and her eyes went wide. "Yes it is. It's not a rune itself, but it's found in several ancient runic sites. It's called the Crest of the Guardians. They were said to work alongside the twelve Knights of the Round Table."

The car's radio ran through a lot of static, and managed to sound very surprised. It stopped on some kind of TV quote that said, "How'd you figure that?"

She answered the car, "I do a lot of reading." She turned to Sam. "I think Harry's right. The car's making sense, communicating."

The car flipped through clips from commercials and TV shows. "I can't believe""you got it!""Prime""is going to kill me for this."

Sam was freaking out. "What the hell?!"

The car said to him, "Take it easy, kid.""We're on your side."

Harry had the presence of mind to look around for observers. "Look, this isn't a conversation we should be having here. I don't know that your parents would be able to handle it."

Sam said, "I don't know that _I_ can handle it!" Then he stopped and took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's get out of here, find an empty parking lot or something."

The three of them climbed into the Camaro, Sam in the driver's seat, and the two magicals in the back. The trip was silent by mutual consent, everyone wanting to wait until they were in a quiet place to talk. They stopped at a drive thru to grab some burgers, and then the car drove them to a large construction site. They all piled out, and sat on various bits and pieces.

Then, to their amazement, the car unfolded, changing from a car into a huge robot, standing two stories in height. He said, "The Secretary will take your questions now." It was obviously a sound bite from some kind of press conference

Sam said, "Did you break all the glass on the lot so Bobby B. would have to let you come with me?"

He nodded vigorously, playing a canned laugh track from a sitcom.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny."

Harry grinned, but there were far more important things to ask. "Have you got a name?"

The alien machine creature played a piece of orchestral music, fast and busy. Harry thought he should recognize it, but the name escaped him.

Not so Hermione, of course. "Flight of the Bumblebee? Is your name Bumblebee?"

"Absolutely""fabulous."

Harry said, "Okay, Bumblebee. What brings you to Earth?"

Bumblebee shrugged. "But the words don't come easy." He pointed at Sam. "A treasure! A treasure beyond all imagining.""We're more like treasure protectors."

"We? So there are more of you?"

"Four ships off our port bow, Captain.""You sure ask a lot of questions""whipper snapper."

Sam said, "Wait, I'm a treasure?"

Bumble bee nodded. "Sort of.""In another's eyes."

"Why did you bring us out here?" asked Hermione.

"E.T. phone home!"

Harry said, "Okay, let's see if I've got this. Sam is in possession of a treasure, which you were sent to find and protect, and there are four more of your people waiting to hear from you on it before you call them and get them to come here."

In a cartoon voice from a kid's show, Bumblebee said, "Smartypants." Then he stood and went to the top of the site, where the power station would hide his stature, and sent a signal into the sky.

Sam said, "This is so insane. My car is an alien robot.

"Good way to hide, I suppose," said Hermione. "What have you got that they could be so interested in, I wonder?"

"And why do they need it," Harry said thoughtfully.

-tf-

Bumblebee drove Harry and Hermione home before he and Sam went back to Sam's house. The two magical teens quickly went into the small house they had bought and called for Remus and Sirius to come into the front room, and there they told them all they had learned about that night.

Harry said, "Bumblebee is armed, and there are a couple of marks on him that had to have been made by weapons, scars made by some kind of gunfire. He's been in battle, and I'd guess that's with others of his kind."

Sirius said, "Do you think these others will be coming in soon?"

"Probably," Hermione answered. "He said 'Tempus Fugit', so I don't think it would be long before they arrived."

Remus said, "All right. Sirius and I should go with you tomorrow so we can meet these robots. I'm sure you two intend to help with whatever's going on, and we aren't letting you get into this without us."

Harry grinned at him. "Thanks. It's nice to have the adults on our side for a change."

"We'll go over first thing in the morning, and we'll all go into town for breakfast. We'll bring our car, and Sam and Bumblebee can follow us in."

"Not a bad idea," said Sirius. He shook his head in wonder. "Giant alien robots. You really can't have a single normal school year, can you, Harry?"

Harry's mouth dropped open, and he sputtered, "This-this is not my fault!" Then he saw Sirius trying not to grin. "You nutter!"

They dissolved into laughter for a moment or two, but after they had calmed, Hermione asked, "What are we going to do if they mean this planet harm?"

Harry sighed. "Deffend it."

Remus looked at Harry intently. "Even if that means exposing us?"

"Yes. There is no Statute of Secrecy here, only our better judgement, and if by some act of magic we can stop a group of aliens from taking over this planet, I want to do it. But it's not just me. What do you three think?"

Remus smiled, knowing that Harry was not comfortable with leadership, though he was very good at it. "Hermione? How do you feel?"

"I agree. This is our home now, and we should defend it."

Harry said, "Sirius?"

The former convict grinned. "You know I'm with you. Remus?"

"Good. I happen to agree; I just wanted to make sure you were thinking about it."

Harry shrugged. "Hopefully it won't be an issue. Bumblebee seems nice enough. But I get that he's a soldier, not the person in charge, and his superior may not be so friendly."

Hermione said, "Then there's the fact that he _is_ a soldier. Soldiers fight in wars. So who is their enemy?"

With that unpleasant thought on their minds, the four wizards went to bed, each praying that they weren't about to be involved in another war.

-tf-

 _Note: I hope you've all enjoyed the latest installment. Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing. Until next time..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The four of them met Sam and Bumblebee then went down town to get breakfast. Sam spotted Mikaela there, and waved at her. She waved back and smiled at him, causing him to trip over his own feet. Bumblebee played a cut of "Smooth Operator" and Harry and Hermione laughed, too, though not unkindly.

He groused at them, "Yeah, you're all a real riot."

They all sat at a table close to the street so Bumblebee could hear their conversation and participate. They introduced Remus and Sirius to the robot and started to ask more questions about him and his people.

But it was not to be. A police car came up behind Bumblebee, who said, "Danger, Will Robinson!" And he wasn't kidding. The police cruiser came right up onto the sidewalk, scattering everyone, but aiming right at Sam. The cruizer menaced him, pushing and pushing as he revved his engines.

Bumblebee followed them, and so did the wizards, all of them ending up in the same abandoned construction site that they had come to this world in. The other car was a robot as well, and he transformed, backing Sam up against an abandoned vehicle, screaming, "Where are the glasses!?"

Harry didn't hesitate a moment longer, and neither did Bumblebee. Harry pulled his wand and started throwing spells, starting with a well placed blasting hex to knock him away from Sam. Bumblebee transformed and stood up in the space Harry had just made, positioning himself between Sam and the other bot.

The two robots started fighting hand to hand, and Sam ran for it, getting back out of the construction site. Harry wanted to continue to help Bumblebee, but he couldn't get a clean shot. Then, when he finally got another opening, the police cruiser bot changed back into a car, and tried to go after Sam again. Harry shot out his tires, and yelled, "Bee, get Sam out of here!"

"What the hell""is that thing?"

"Later!"

Bee nodded and ran to get Sam, transforming back into his Camaro form as he ran. The other bot transformed again, and this time he pointed his weapons at Harry. "Snivelling little ape!" Harry reached into his pocket as he ducked and dodged, taking out his shrunken Firebolt. So much for secrecy. But he had no choice, because this thing was going to squish him if he didn't get some mobility and fast! "Hold still so I can hit you!"

"Not really an incentive, scrap-pile!" And with that he was mounted and flying out into the open. He saw Sirius, Remus and Hermione all pile into Remus's SUV and Sam and Mikaela jump into Bumblebee.

Thanks to Harry's spell-fire, they were not followed, but Harry was now exposed, so he disillusioned himself, shivering as the feeling of being covered in raw egg moved down his body. He also pulled out his cell phone once he was high enough to avoid traffic and called Hermione. "I'm okay."

"Where are you?"

"Overhead, and disillusioned. Find a place isolated enough for me to come down without being spotted."

"All right. Be careful. And call Sam. He's already called once asking if you were with us."

"I will. I love you."

There were tears in her voice as she said, "I love you, too."

Harry called Sam. "Sam. I shot out that other robot's tires, so he couldn't follow you right away."

"Shot out how?! And where are you?!"

"I'm following you. I have other transport. Follow Remus, because he's trying to find a place we can link up without me being seen. Sam, was he talking about your eBay page?"

"Yeah. He said he wanted the glasses. I guess that meant my great grandfather's glasses. But why would giant alien robots care about those?"

"I don't know. Where are they?"

"They're in my school bag."

"Which could be anywhere in your house. All right. Is Mikaela okay?"

"A little freaked. And so am I. The car dumped us out in the tunnel, then came back for us looking like brand new! This is all crazy, Harry."

"I know. Look, I need to concentrate, so I'm gonna hang up. Follow Remus, and I'll explain my secrets when we all get stopped." Harry ended the call and slipped the phone into his jacket pocket, trying to concentrate on his flying. It felt good to be back on a broom. He hadn't had a chance to fly in a long time, and he'd missed it.

To keep from being hit by traffic, Harry kept his broom just above Remus's SUV, alternating between going over and under traffic lights just for variety. It wasn't too long before Remus pulled into Joaquin Miller Park. It was a place he knew because he and Sirius spent every full moon there as Moony and Padfoot.

Harry came in for a landing, then nixed the disillusionment charm as soon as he was sure that no one would see him appearing out of thin air. Hermione was the first one out of the SUV and ran over to him, nearly tackling him in her enthusiasm to embrace him as he reshrunk his broom.

"Whatever comes in this fight we're about to get into, please don't die, Harry. I can't be alone." She said it quietly, almost whispering in his ear, but there was no mistaking the fervor of her request.

Harry sighed and just held her for a moment or two. Then he said, "I can only promise to try and to be careful."

Reluctantly she nodded, and they separated, but didn't let go of his hand, not willing to part from him completely.

Bumblebee said, "What in tarnation""are you""Mister?"

"I'd rather only go into that explanation once, Bumblebee. Are your mates on their way?"

The robot nodded slowly. "Comin' in hot, boys!" Then he pointed upward, and everyone looked up to see four fireballs plough through the atmosphere.

Harry shook his head in bemusement. "How do you always find the right thing to say from the broadcasts?"

Bumblebee, who had transformed, smirked at him. "Correctly."

Remus and Hermione both laughed out loud at that, and Harry grinned.

Mikaela had calmed down a bit, but she said, "Okay, what the hell is going on? Sam?"

"Yeah, so I bought the car, and after I took you home that night we found out it was an alien robot."

"And what was that back there? A cop car?"

"Another robot," said Harry. "This one's name is Bumblebee, and he talks to us with the radio. He seems to be one of the good guys in this fight, where as the cop car definitely isn't. And he could talk normally. Why Bee can't, we don't know."

"Oh, so that thing at the Lookout with the radio-"

Sam finished, "Was Bee trying to be suave."

Bumblebee retorted in the voice of John Wayne. "You're short on ears and long on mouth."

Sirius said, "All right, so what do we do now? What do you need from us? From Sam ?"

"The treasure."

"The other robot was asking about the glasses on Sam's eBay page. Is that it?"

A quick nod and the sounds of applause came from his speakers. Then he said, "The away team is hailing us, Keptin," a line from Star Trek.

Remus said, "It would be easiest and best, I think, if you had them meet us here. If you can communicate with them over distances?"

"No problem.""You got any more questions?"

Within an hour, four new vehicles came into the park. One was an ambulance, one a Pontiac Solstice, one a GMC 4x4 and the last a great Peterbilt lorry. They all stopped, surrounding the humans loosely, and transformed along with Bumblebee into their robot forms. All were massive, on the same scale as a troll or a young giant. The largest of them, the lorry, knelt down to look at Sam as close to eye level as possible. Then in a deep, commanding voice, he said, "Are you Samuel James Witwicky, descendent of Archibald Witwicky?"

Mikaela said in surprise, "They know your name."

Sam just blinked, then answered, "Yeah?"

The huge robot said, "My name is Optimus Prime. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."

The ambulance said, "But you can call us Autobots for short."

Optimus went around the group, introducing Jazz, the Solstice, Ironhide, the GMC, and Ratchet, the ambulance. "You already know your guardian, Bumblebee."

Bumblebee excitably said, "Check out the rep, yep, second to none."

Harry chuckled, drawing Optimus's eye. "And I see many more humans than you reported, Bumblebee."

"That's kind of my fault," said Harry. "He had no way of knowing I'd be able to sense his energy."

"And how is that possible?"

Harry grinned at the big mech. "Because I'm special."

Hermione smacked his arm. "Harry!"

"Ow!"

Sirius said, "You said you wanted to help, Harry. Cards on the table."

Harry stuck his tongue out at his godfather, but then said, "Yeah. We four are wizards, humans able to do magic. We actually came here from a different dimension, and from what I can tell, humans here never developed the ability to use magical energy. Your people, on the other hand, obviously did, though less as a tool and more as a power source."

Ratchet, the medic of the group, said, "And you can sense that energy?"

"I've always been able to."

Ironhide said, "You mean this kid can sense Energon emissions?"

Optimus shrugged. "It would seem so." He asked, "You defend this world?"

Harry nodded. "We haven't had to yet, but yes, we mean to."

Sam said to Bumblebee, "So you're my guardian, huh?" He made a generally positive electronic noise in response.

Ratchet sent some kind of scanning beam at Bumblebee's throat, making him cough. "His vocal processors were damaged in battle. I'm still working on them."

Mikaela asked, "Why are you here?"

Optimus answered, "We are here looking for the AllSpark. And we must find it before Megatron."

"Megawhat?" asked Sirius

Optimus began projecting an image onto the surrounding area, an image that was very realistic, making it seem like they were all inside it, and like a wizarding painting, it moved. He narrated, "Our planet was once a powerful empire. Peaceful and just. Until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied them were destroyed. Our war finally consumed the planet, and the All Spark was lost to the stars." The image of Megatron in the simulation growled with frustration. "Megatron followed it to Earth, where Captain Witwicky found him."

"Oh- My grandfather."

"It was an accident that intertwined our fates. Megatron crash-landed before he could retrieve the Cube. And when Captain Witwicky found him, he touched him and accidentally activated his navigation system. The coordinates to the Cube's location on Earth were imprinted on his glasses."

Hermione asked, "How'd you know about his glasses?"

"EBay."

Remus asked the Autobots, "How bad is this?"

Ratchet said, "If the Decepticons find the All Spark, they will use its power to transform Earth's machines and build a new army."

Optimus continued, "And the human race will be extinguished. Sam Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival."

Mikaela turned to Sam. "Please tell me that you have those glasses."

~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~O~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~

Remus and Sirius rode back in the SUV, the only vehicle present that was not alive, but Prime wanted to know more about them, so Harry and Hermione rode back with Prime. Sam and Mikaela, of course, rode with Bumblebee.

Wanting to keep the conversation fluid, however, Optimus patched everyone's radios together. He asked them, "How is it that you came from a different dimension?"

Hermione said, "There is an artifact there called the Veil of Justice. If you're put through it, it judges whether or not you are guilty of the crime of which you have been accused, and if you are it kills you. But if you are not, it sends you to a new world, away from your persecutors. It's only used if a person has been convicted of a capital crime. They convicted Harry and Sirius both of murders they did not commit. Remus and I came so they wouldn't be alone."

Harry smiled at her, and took her hand in his. "I've always been _unique_ , even among wizards, in being able to actually sense magical energy. When we first arrived here, about nine months ago, I could tell that this world had no wizards, because the magic hadn't been either tamed or twisted, just like I can tell that this metal you're made of is steeped in it."

Ratchet's voice came over the radio. "Few would be able to tell so much, even with the most advanced and finely tuned scanners."

Bumblebee quoted 2001 Space Odyssey, "My God, it's full of stars!"

Ironhide said, "And what is a wizard?"

"Any human capable of using magic well enough to power a wand is called a wizard," said Remus. "There are actually four levels of magical ability that have been noted in humans. Muggles are normal people and can't use it at all. Squibs only have enough to let them see things like ghosts and dementors. Wizards and witches are able to use magic with a wand, and are able to power enchantments, runic arrays and advanced potions. And then there are sorcerers, people who can see magic and bend it to their will without needing a wand at all. Harry falls into this category, as did his nemesis, the man who actually killed the boy he was accused of murdering, and the headmaster of his school. Sorcerers are rare, and honestly, having three in any one nation at a time was stunningly rare. One in every one hundred thousand humans of that world is a wizard or witch. One in a thousand wizards and witches will be a sorcerer."

Mikaela said, "That's like only seventy-six on the entire planet!"

Sirius answered her, "Actually, it was fifty-nine last I heard."

"Sixty-five," countered Remus. "Six more were born while you were incarcerated."

"Yes," said Hermione, "But that world is eleven years behind this one. There could be as many as seventy or eighty by the time they reach this point in their history."

"And what can you guys do with your power?" asked Jazz.

Harry said, "Lots of different kinds of things. But we can't create life, or bring someone back from the dead. From the sounds of it, this Cube of yours can."

Optimus made an affirmative hum. "It can indeed create life out of raw living metal, or cyber-matter. It is responsible for the creation of our race, and without it, we would not have a Spark, what humans call a soul."

"And if this Megatron gets what he wants?"

"The All-Spark can infuse life into any machine. It doesn't have to be cyber-matter. It can just be aluminum and steel. Which means he can change every machine on the planet into a living Spark and enslave them to his will."

They arrived at Sam's house, and Sam had everyone park in the back, urging the others to stay with the Autobots and keep an eye on them. Harry said, "No way. I'm coming with you, or you'll never find them in that nest you call a bedroom."

They then had to get past Ron who tried to guilt Sam for skipping out on the chores and being late. Urgently needing to get him out of the way Sam started promising all kinds of chores, but finally Ron went back in the house. Unfortunately, Mikaela, Hermione, Sirius and Remus hadn't been enough to stop the anxious bots from transforming and coming right into the back yard, ruining the landscaping that Ron had worked so hard to do. He started arguing with Optimus, and Harry rolled his eyes. "Sam! I can fix the damage later! Come on!"

Mojo took that opportunity to take a leak on Ironhide's foot.

Sam cringed. "Oh, this is bad. No! Mojo, Mojo! Off the robot! God!"

Ironhide growled. "Nnh, wet." Then he pointed his guns at the tiny creature, which was, on the face of it, ridiculous.

"No no no no no no! Easy! Easy! Hold on! Hold! This is Mojo. This is Mojo. He's a pet of mine. He's a pet. Okay? That's all. If you could just put the guns away... Put the- put them away. Please."

"You have a rodent infestation," Ironhide muttered.

"A what?"

"Shall I terminate?"

Sam was horrified. "No no no no. He's not a rodent, he's a chihuahua. This is my- this is my chihuahua. We love chihuahuas! Don't we?"

"He's leaked lubricants all over my foot!"

Sam: He peed on you? Bad Mojo. Bad Mojo! I'm sorry. He's got a male dominance thing. That's all it is.

Ironhide walked off, grumbling, "That's gonna rust."

"All right," said Sam. "Okay, okay. Shut up and go hide!"

Optimus said, "Just hurry."

Once in the house, Sam and Harry went for the bedroom, but Harry spotted Sam's backpack on the kitchen counter and grabbed it on the way up. "Didn't you put those in here?"

"Ah! That's great, Harry!" He quickly dug through the bag and then triumphantly pulled out the antique glasses, truly noticing the etching on the lenses for the first time. Harry grinned at him. Then something happened outside. One of the giant metallic beings had tripped over the neighbor's fence and had fallen, taking out a transformer and the electricity for the entire block. The only good thing about the whole incident was that this was southern California. People might not expect giant robots, but they _did_ expect earthquakes. Thankfully, by the time Sam and Harry were back down stairs, Ron had come to the obvious conclusion and the Autobots were out of sight. But the damage to the yard was done, and Ron was apoplectic. Sam grabbed a trash can, and Harry grabbed another one, and they made their way to the alley, as if doing the chores Ron had asked of Sam. They left them in the correct places, and then got back into their robotic rides and everyone was heading out.

They missed being apprehended by only minutes, though they didn't know that.

Once in a safer location, Optimus ran a scanner through the etching on the spectacles. "Please let this work," he muttered.

Jazz said, "Fire it up, Optimus."

After scanning the resulting hologram, Optimus said, "The code... The code on these glasses indicates the All Spark is two hundred and thirty miles from here."

"I sense the Decepticons are getting ready to mobilize," said Ratchet.

Ironhide nodded. "They must know it's here, as well."

"Then we'll need to hurry," said Sirius. "We can leave the SUV here, locked up, and ride with you lot."

Ironhide said, "Why?"

Remus answered him, "Because we can't let those who would enslave this planet reach such a power any more than you can."

"And besides," said Harry, "You really can't hide well enough to walk into the Hoover Dam Power Station."

So they hit the road headed for the dam and it's hidden secrets. It was late, so taking advantage of the fact that the cars could drive themselves, the humans all napped. But Harry wasn't quite asleep when the Autobots began having a quiet conversation, still piped through the radios. Ironhide asked, "Why are we fighting to save the humans? They're a primitive and violent race."

Optimus snorted. "Were we so different? They're a young species. They have much to learn. But I've seen goodness in them. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. You all know there's only one way to end this war. We must destroy the Cube. If all else fails, I will unite it with the Spark in my chest."

Ratchet protested, "That's suicide. The Cube is raw power. It could destroy you both."

"A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes... It's been an honor serving with you all."

Harry swore to himself, as he did finally drift off to sleep, that he wouldn't let that happen. He didn't have many friends. He sure as hell wasn't going to let one of them die protecting him.

~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~O~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~

 _Notes: Thanks for your patience, guys! I hope you've all enjoyed this segment. I'm still working out the timing for the rest of the mess. They're ahead of S7 thanks to Harry's intervention, but now they have to figure out how to get to the Cube itself. And I think I know where I'm going with that, but we'll have to wait and see._


End file.
